Words about farmers markets, gardening, place, and whatever else seems relevant to my little life now being lived in the metropolis of Tokyo.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Seedlings in the Window

I started some of our first seedlings this past Friday using old sushi containers from a take-out meal earlier in the week. The containers are plastic with lids that fold or swing back making them nearly perfect for starting seeds.

One container holds some Green Zebra seeds from Project Grow's awesome heirloom seed collection that I bought at the People's Food Coop. (Just so folks know, I blog for Project Grow and I served on the Board at PFC.) I first ate these tasty tomatoes last summer while working at Frog Holler Farm. I'd never seen a green tomato before, much less tasted one. I don't even remember exactly why I dug into one at long last, but I'm sure glad I did! The lemony taste and cute size of these little gems makes them one of the best tomatoes I've ever had. (It is hard to top a Brandywine, too, but I tend to eat those like my Wisconsin people. I cut it into thick slices with a sprinkle of sugar on top, and then eat it like I would a juicy steak.)

The other container holds some sweet basil seeds that our apartment's former residents left behind for us. I've got my fingers crossed that these sprout and do well. I've had mixed luck with seeds in the past, and so I'm hopeful but a wee bit sceptical, too. Luckily, I've seen basil seedlings at the local nursery as well as at another garden store at Kichijoji. There will be pesto! (Once we give in to the super pricey olive oil prices, that is, and walnuts. Yikes!)

I'm hoping to start some other seeds today or tomorrow of bok choi, peas, and cardinal climber. I The last two I imagine on trellis' climbing around our balcony. I've got a couple moshi containers from yesterday (more on that later) that should be good for those.